Mileage seems to be really bad!!

[AdreeN]

I just bought a 08 250r 2 months ago, loving it...but the mileage seems really low, or I just had high hopes for monstrous numbers.
On a full tank, doing almost 3/4 on the highway and the rest local.
I only get about 300 KM a tank.
I'm in Canada :P the equivalent in miles is approximately 186 miles per tank.
I don't actually ride until I run out of juice, it's just an estimate.
I guess I accelerate pretty quickly.
I usually just try to get away from cars ASAP.
I cruise at about 6-7k rpm, and on the highway I average about 120-130km/h (75-81 miles/h).
Don't know if anything was done to bog down the mileage from the previous two owners.

[DaBlue1]

Gasoline doesn't vaporize very well at very cold temperatures. So some oil companies formulate fuel differently for cold-weather markets in the winter. Unfortunately, the changes that are supposed to make cold weather vaporization better, also result in less available energy for combustion. You won't get as far on a liter/gal of winter gas as you will on a liter/gal of summer gas. Other reasons that can affect your gas mileage are;

1. More idling to warm the bike up
2. Low tire pressure due to cold temps
3. Lower engine and oil temps- Ninjas run better in warmer temps

[TenaciousD]

Are you accurately measuring how much fuel you've used? If you're going by when the fuel gauge reads empty you will underestimate your fuel mileage. At least on my bike when the gauge reads empty I've actually got around a gallon of fuel. So, if you're using around 3 gallons of gas to go 186 miles, that's 60 miles per gallon which is about right. If you're truly empty at 186 miles then, yeah, you're not getting the mileage you should.

[FrugalNinja250]

Try to figure the actual amount of fuel you're using. Gas mileage is normally done either as miles per gallon (or kilometers per liter I suppose) or as the amount of fuel burned in 100km. Keep in mind that each time you fill the tank there will be variations in the maximum level you fill to because the tank is fairly flat on top. A mm difference in height can cause a fair fraction of a liter variation. The best way is to keep detailed records over time, liters consumed and miles ridden, and then divide one into the other.

On my bike I consistently saw 55-58 miles per gallon with the stock 14T front sprocket, and that jumped to 62-65 mpg with the 15T. I've gotten as low as 45 mpg when doing 80+ miles per hour with full saddlebags into a partial headwind (throttle topped out).

Edit to add, how to figure fuel use. Fill the tank, noting where the fuel level is exactly. Ride X number of miles, then refill the tank to the same exact level as before, and record fuel volume and distance. Say you put in 10.5 liters of fuel, and rode 192km. Divide the km by the liters and you get 18.29 km/liter. That works out to be 43 mpg in English units, which I would consider low. Remember, it's important to fill to the same exact point each time you top off the tank. The emptier you run your tank before refilling the more accurate the fill number will be since the percentage of error will be smaller.

[tjkamper]

What your describing doesn't sound too far off. Get an accurate reading of your mileage. As rule, I always try to fill up at about 180 Miles. and I usually have about a gallon of gas left in the tank.

[AdreeN]

this will prob be the worst question ever asked on any forum...but how do i get an accurate reading lol.

[FrugalNinja250]

Easy. Fill the bike to a known point, such as the bottom edge of the filler neck, then read the fuel amount off of the gas pump display. Write down the miles off your trip odometer and then reset it.

[Alex]

Related thread on mileage.

/moved to new-gen tech...

[CZroe]

Mileage seems about like mine. I've always thought something was fishy.

[KELPHYN]

That's about my average. Sometimes it's less. I usually check my kms at the half tank mark on the gauge to see how my mileage is doing. There has been the odd time when I've got only 200kms to a tank. (strong head-winds, lots of hills and high speeds) That's why I keep a close eye on the top half and adjust my driving style if I have along way to go between gas stops.

[CZroe]

41MPG at my last fill up.

[Rexbo]

also the speedo/odometer are usually inaccurate as well. They did a pretty ass job of calibrating them. Fill your tank to full at the bottom of the filler neck, then drive to another place (and use mapquest or something to figure out the actual distance) then fill it there back up to the fuel neck.

# of gallons on the pump divided by actual mapquest miles = actual mpg.

[FrugalNinja250]

I don't know about the newgen bikes but I took apart a speedo/odometer on a pregen and did some calculations with the gearing to determine accuracy, finding it to be very accurate. With the stock sized unworn tire the odometer reads 0.9% high, and with an unworn Kenda K671 in the 100/90 size it reads 2.5% low. As the tire wears and becomes smaller the odometer actually becomes more accurate with the stock tire. Because the odometer drive system is all gears and direct mechanical connections there's nothing to calibrate or adjust on it. The speedo, on the other hand, uses magnetic eddy drag and can be (and usually is) fairly inaccurate.

[AdreeN]

45.96 MPG, looks like i'm a little below average

[jonthechron]

Sounds like your doing just fine, I ride like you and get the same mileage as you!

[SteveL]

My 250R FI averaged 3.5 Liters a 100Km overall for the 6000Km that I had it.

Steve

[Bueller999]

Originally Posted by AdreeN

45.96 MPG, looks like i'm a little below average

That is bad, I mainly ride my 250 on the track, so I am not sure of the milage under those conditions but my Buell (984cc) gets a steady 50 mpg, and I am really heavy on the throttle.

[reaperw]

How are you only at 6-7k doing 130km

[Kurgan]

I think many of you are forgetting one very important thing about calculating average fuel mileage....higher octane fuel gets lower mileage.

So if you fill up with low octane 86/87 one time, then decide to splurge and go with 94 octane the next time, don't be surprised when that 94 octane gas runs out a lot faster.

It's completely normal and nothing is wrong with your bike.

[CZroe]

We all know better than to "splurge" because it only makes sense for engines tuned to require it to prevent pinging/predetonation. Now, knowing that, why would it get worse MPG?

[leed]

The only reason I can think you would get worse MPG for higher octane, is perhaps that in "proper and ideal operating conditions" all octanes have the same amount of 'energy density.'

Being said, if you run a higher octane fuel in an engine that does not require it, that fuel is not being put under the 'correct' amount of pressure, so it is not detonating in its proposed ideal state, so its 'energy density' is lower.

That is, our Ninjette engines do not have have enough compression to meet the higher octane 'compression standard' that high compression engines are designed to have.

[Roman250R]

I use fuelly.com
Fun, easy you get to look at what other people get.

[Kurgan]

Originally Posted by CZroe

We all know better than to "splurge" because it only makes sense for engines tuned to require it to prevent pinging/predetonation. Now, knowing that, why would it get worse MPG?

Higher octane fuel burns faster and usually gives a bit better power, therefor requires more fuel, so you get less mileage.

That's why people who run E-85 Ethanol in their cars don't really travel any cheaper because they have to fill up more often. E-85 is effectively 110 Octane.

Plus even in economy car engines that are also "not tuned for the higher octane" it's good to run a tank of the good stuff every once in a while just to keep things cleaned out and running smoothly.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Kurgan

Higher octane fuel burns faster and usually gives a bit better power, therefor requires more fuel, so you get less mileage.

Not really. This thread goes into great detail about the octane discussion.

[akima]

Originally Posted by SteveL

My 250R FI averaged 3.5 Liters a 100Km overall for the 6000Km that I had it.

Steve

Wow! According to my workings (below) that's 80.7MPG (imperial/uk gallons)

100Km = 62.14 miles
3.5 Litres = 0.77 imperial/UK gallons
(62.14 / 77) * 100 = 80.701298701

Do you employ any particular riding techniques to get that good mileage? Does fuel injection give better mileage than the Carb system?